Blogs

Blackpool now has a small team of 5 volunteers. They all become involved in the MHFE pilot as learners but have shown exceptional commitment, enthusiasm and dedication to the project during and after their courses.

The Wellbeing Café at Morley College

Since coming into post as the Project Co-ordinator I have been keen to utilise social media as a way of connecting with learners. After following policy guidelines we now have use of numerous social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest and a Padlet. Our aim is to provide support and enhance the delivery of our courses and as a medium to encourage progression from our courses.

Upon completion of a recent Positive Futures course learners were asked how they felt.  This course was based around the '5 Ways to Well-being' focusing on many aspects including diet and nutrient.  One learner asked if the topic of 'Self Love' could be included and following that session these are some of the comments made

'Connecting and sharing with others has felt good, I found the session on self love very beneficial'

We have uploaded a new case study to The Learning Curve (Wiltshire) project page. Please do check it out. Allan completed a confidence and self-esteem course with us in November and December 2016. Subsequently, Allan has joined the MHP project as a volunteer. As part of his volunteering Allan has completed a coiuple of one day employability courses, a two day introduction to trainer skills course and All an has taken the opportunity to volunteer to support the tutor on one of our Jamie Oliver home cooking courses.

This afternoon Blue Sky Derby hosted a successful afternoon tea, offering residents of Derby the opportunity to come and find out more about the project and it's suitability for them over a free drink and piece of cake. We had a steady stream of interested people through the door, not all of which the project was suitable for but were then directed to other areas of learning that they could benefit from.

I just thought I'd write a short blog about my experiences as a BlueSky Derby peer volunteer on the research project. I first joined BlueSky as a research volunteer taking part in courses on resiliance and strength spotting, this was incredibly interesting and I was aware of opportunities to train as a peer support worker/volunteer for the project which I underwent.

As we start the New Year and the Spring term it is time to reflect on our progress to date.